Whole grains are an excellent dietary vehicle for delivering health-promoting nutrients that you body needs.  These substances are found mainly in the bran and germ of the grain kernel.  Thus, milling and baking with whole grains, like wheat, rye and oats, ensures that you get all the vital nutrients that are essential for wellness.

By milling whole grains and baking your own whole grain food, you’re using all three parts of the grain: the bran, the germ and the endosperm. On the other hand, refined flour only utilizes the carbohydrate-rich endosperm.  The bran contains fiber and trace minerals such as calcium and magnesium.  The germ imparts essential fatty acids, antioxidants and vitamins B and E. Whole grains are capable of reducing cholesterol levels and Type II diabetes. Your risks of cardio-vascular diseases and colon cancer are also significantly reduced.

Tips for Milling Your Whole Wheat Grains

Here are a few critical tips to gain the most from milling your whole wheat grains:

• Use wheat berries. Hulled whole wheat kernels are referred to as wheat berries. Purchase them from grain stores by the pound, depending on how much flour you intend to mill.

• Flour measurements. A pound of wheat berries will give you approximately 4½ cups of flour. Whereas a cup of the same will produce about 1¾ cups of flour. Excess wheat berries can be stored indefinitely at room temperature.

• Current flour use. Mill only as much of the wheat berries as necessary to make flour for immediate use. The oil content in the milled whole grain flour will turn rancid within 72 hours and does not keep well in the fridge.

• Soak whole wheat grain flour overnight. Soaking the flour overnight will neutralize phytic acid, an anti-nutrient, in the grain. Phytic acid, found in the bran, will bond with minerals like magnesium, calcium and iron, preventing their absorption in the digestive system. It then passes through the gastro-intestinal tract and is expelled from the body as waste.

The numerous practical implications of milling and baking with whole grains emphasize benefits to your health and wellness. You can reduce the risks associated with major diseases by harnessing the nourishing goodness of whole grains. Follow the tips for milling perfect whole wheat grains and keep healthy!

1. The spouted grain is easier to digest.

2. The sprouted grain has a lower impact on the glycemic index scale, thus not quite the insulin spike.

3. The sprouted grain is sweet to the taste and gives a very good flavor twist on typical flours – even freshly milled flours.

Let’s take a closer look. Below is a photo of some organic soft white wheat, first dry and then sprouted:

When you take a look at the compared photos, you’ll notice tiny, white ‘tails’ on the wheat that is sprouted. That’s all it takes! Once they start to sprout, you’re done…they don’t have to grow in to what looks like typical bean sprouts.

Once sprouted, the grain has released much of it’s white, starchy inner ‘food source’ of the endo-sperm to feed the ‘embryo’ of the grain shoot and thus you have now virtually got an-almost vegetable.

By the way, this only takes about 2 days!

Well – now what do we do with it?

There are a few options at this point. Let me give you two:

Mill it now while it’s moist and use right away or dehydrate it at a low temperature to mill later into a fine flour.

With both options, you will not want to mill in an electric mill. The moisture from the sprouted grain will clog the motor of an electric mill (if you are milling it moist right away) and simply due to manufacturer warranty and the risk factor, I would avoid milling it after it has been home deydrated as well – just in case.

The best mill for this job is the Wondermill Jr. Deluxe:

The versatility of this mill makes it a must for milling moist and oily grains and seeds and nuts as well as the real stone heads for milling dried, or dehydrated grains into a fine flour.

If you choose to dehydrate your sprouted grain for using as a flour, there are a multitude of dehydrator options to fit almost every budget.  Here are just a few:

Whichever option you choose, the choice to sprout grains and add them into your healthy diet is a good choice.

Look for more information coming up about the steps and uses of sprouted grains visit our YouTube Chanel – The Wheat Guy.

Click this icon to go see and subscribe:

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Challah, also known to many as a Braided Bread, has a rich tradition for each Friday night in the Hebrew nation of Israel.  I enjoy the braiding and decorating of the loaf, because it sets it apart from the regular loaves of bread I make thrthroughout the week. As usual the recipe makes enough to have two loaves of sweet and fluffy bread. One we eat with our pizza and the other makes us get through the weekend without having to bake again! So Mama gets a little break.

This tradition us not only found in the Bible, but the smell and texture of this special loaf of bread helps us to memtally prepare for a restful weekend to enjoy our family!

You don’t have to be Jewish or Hebrew to enjoy this tradition…give it a try.

is having a

Day Class at Miller’s Creek Baptist Church !!

in Miller’s Creek, NC

10:00AM -7:00PM – Saturday - October 9, 2010

We’d LOVE to have YOU join us !!

• Learn how to stretch your food dollars using healthy, whole foods.
• Learn how to make healthy foods convenient.
• Learn to use both manual and electric grain mills and see the difference.
  
• Learn techniques for using freshly milled grain.
• Learn to use both machine and hand methods of bread baking.
• Learn ways to store your grains.
• Learn new skills.
• Eat great food.
• Make new friends!

Tentative Itinerary….

10:00AM: ~ WELCOME !!

10:30-11:00AM: ~ We jump right into Fresh Milled Loaf Bread Baking Basics! Learn to make hamburger buns, hoagie/sub rolls, hot dog buns and more fun with this Basic Fool Proof recipe!

10:00-11:30AM: ~ Let’s mix up some Whole Grain Breakfasts to make healthy convenience foods for those busy mornings! Make-a-head muffin options, pancake and waffles in a jiff and more! We’ll make a batch for snack too!

1:00PM-ish: ~ Let’s have Lunch on YOUR BREAD that just came out of the oven!  PBJs, Veggie Sandwiches or Turkey…and trimmings.

After lunch clean up – let’s take a little break and have a Q & A session!

• Why is home milling is both more economical and healthier?
• Trouble-shooting?
• Grain Storage?
• Your questions…just ask!
  

4:30PM: ~ Time to start making Whole Wheat PIZZA together! Then we can enjoy a Healthy Pizza Party!

6:30PM: ~ Sadly, it’s time to clean up then go home! But don’t forget to share emails and contact info with your new friends to help you keep baking and sharing tips together!

How to Register:

The earlier you register…the more you save!

Once you have registered by paying, we will send you more detailed information of what to expect from our day together!

$28.00 covers all your supplies, lunch, snack, dinner and instruction!

If you don’t have or like to use PayPal, that is FINE. You can pay via debit/credit card.

After you’ve clicked that yellow button above… just then click the next yellow button that says “Proceed to Checkout” and look for the option that looks like this below….

Don’t have a PayPal account?

Use your credit card or bank account (where available) Continue<input type="submit" name="new_user_button.x" value="Continue" class="transparentButton" alt="">

…on the next page, you can then use your debit/credit card and ‘tah-dah’ YOU’RE IN!

Be sure you are on the email Newsletter to be updated in case the class is filling up!!

I am so looking forward to meeting new friends and sharing great tips together!
Best Blessings!
Donna Miller

If you would like a class or retreat for a group of your own, please contact Donna and we will work with you to see how/when/where… the details to book your own group!

It is GREAT FUN!

It would be my pleasure to come visit and share with new friends!

What does that mean for the US?

What does this mean for the USA? There is the potential on the horizon that wheat will again rise substantially in price per pound.

Asia is now consuming more wheat than ever before in areas traditionally dominated by rice, the historical grain of choice. With Russia, a major exporter of wheat ceasing it’s regular activity, and the global demand still high, prices across the world will begin to reflect the rule of supply and demand.

Even in our line of business, we see the prices fluctuate from month to month, order to order and season to season. The likelihood of this ban effecting local prices within the next two months is high.

The time to order in bulk is NOW!

If you do not have a local way of getting whole foods, dry pantry goods, wheat and grains, please feel free to contact us and we will do the best we can to serve you:

Go to the About Us page above for more info!

Here are a few more little tips I have learned to show myself ‘why to bother’:

• It takes no more time than grabbing a bag of dead flour. Throw the grains in the Nutrimill, turn it on and by the time I’ve gathered the other ingredients for the recipe, the mill is done.

• Even the Nutrimill has saved us money! We eat pizza every Friday night. We used to order 3 Large pizzas from Papa Johns, Dominos or Little Caesars. At the tune of between $30-$40 any given Friday. Now I make pizza crusts ahead of time and use fresh ingredients (and I might add less fats/grease) and make 3 16 inch pizzas for $10.00 total! In less than three months, we had paid for the mill on pizza nights alone!

• Last but not least, you don’t have to start our as a purist. If you HAVE to add, change or substitute a pinch here and there to get your family to eat the freshly milled grains that are so packed with nutrients, then just do that until you have experimented enough to use only the grains you mill. Using even 3/4 of a cup of freshly milled wheat vs. the usual ‘dead bagged flour’ gives your family more fiber, E and other phyto nutrients than they can get from fast foods or frozen waffles.

Relax. EnJOY it!

Now not only are you convinced because of these little tips, but your friends and family will see the confidence in you and not worry that you will soon begin brushing your teeth with sugar or go back to believing the world is flat, just because you mill grains at home. Milling grains at home is not old fashioned, it just makes good sense.

Best Blessings!
Donna

http://www.millersgrainhouse.com/store

Go Green with the WonderMill Jr. Deluxe

Play with your food!

Sure there are some hard and fast ones like: Yeast breads need yeast. Too much salt is pretty gross. But for many ‘rules’ there are acceptations.

Take things like altitude and humidity into consideration. A loaf of bread baked at 3500 feet above sea level will not be the same as one baked AT sea level. Tweak a recipe.

Most recipes are written for sea level and adjusted for differing altitudes. Don’t let that keep you in a box though, break out of the rules of recipes and tweak. Just keep good notes (that’s my downfall, I often play but forget what I did when it worked!).

Have fun. Learn by playing with your food.
Just be prepared to be VERY creative if it doesn’t work out and not waste it by tossing it in the trash.

Best Blessings and enJOY learning more!
Donna

If you already read Part One of this tip, then you may or may not have peaked the curiosity of former nay-sayers. You may still need more explanation for why you are thinking of or currently milling at home. After all, inquiring minds want to know.

The second tip to answering the questions of why you bother to mill at home is the benefits of cost and storage. Sure, we can buy ‘whole wheat bread’ at the store. Sure, ‘dead bagged flour’ lasts for a good while. Are these reasons to dismiss home milling all together? Hardly! In fact, look closer and you can see why milling at home is better.

Health benefits aside, which is the MOST important one in my opinion, storage and cost come up on the convenience end of considering milling at home. The ‘whole wheat’ loaf of bread we can buy in the store is not only made of old, processed whole wheat, but by the government regulations only has to be at least 51% – or mostly whole wheat – to be labeled as such. I digress, this is also a health reason. The cost of said loaf is approximately $2.29. A home milled, fresh WHOLE GRAIN flour, loaf of bread costs me about $.75 to make and that is using all organic (a bit pricier) grains and sugar. Also, I know what is exactly in that loaf!

Storage is the other thought. Admittedly, my fresh baked loaf does NOT last as long , not due to shelf-life but that we eat it so fast (no one in the house can resist cutting into a warm loaf when they smell it), but the grains last for years! ‘Dead bagged flour’ can’t say that. Either weevils, mites or simply staleness can render a dead bag of flour useless in mere months. The Creator made a perfect protection for that grain, the husk. There have been grains found in pyramids that were over 4000 years old that when planted, they grew just as they were intended. How’s that for storage. Just keep the grains in a sturdy container and from getting wet and you can store them for years. I don’t think you will be needing them in 4000 years though.

Best Blessings!
Donna Miller

http://www.millersgrainhouse.com/store

The Wonder Mill

Here is a breakdown of wheat types and which recipe to use them:

~ HARD wheat is best for breads and items that require high rising.
~ SOFT wheat is best for pastries and flat breads such as pancakes, tortillas and biscuits.
~ Both types can be mixed equally to make a light texture for all purpose flour.

Color effects the flavor of the flour not the consistancy:

~ REDS will have a more ‘nutty’ (to me it’s almost a bitter) flavor.
~ WHITES are usually just lighter tan or almost golden and have a smoother taste.
~ Both can be mixed equally to make a deliciously light bread without a bitter result.

Muffins, pancakes, cookies and biscuits can all be made from blending types and colors.
Loaf breads have the best result by using a HARD (either color) type only. It contains the most gluten for the rise of yeast bread.

Happy Milling!!
Best Blessings,
Donna Miller, Owner of MILLERS GRAIN HOUSE

Freshly Milled Whole-wheat Hotdog Buns

The Basic “Fool Proof” Bread Recipe we send out second in our newsletter series can be shaped into:

~ Burger Buns
~ Hot Dog Buns
~ Hoagie Buns
~ Bread Sticks (filled and twisted or just plain, warm and toasty)
~ Bread Bowls for Chilli and Soups
~ and SO many more potentials….

Even once made they can become other things if not used up:
~ Croutons (any of the above)
~ Garlic Bread (best for the hot dog/hoagie buns)
~ Toasted Crackers (slice thin [if not split for burger or hot dog] and butter/toast)
~ Open Faced Cheese Bread (Top with mixed cheeses and broil) to go with soups

So even as simple as the ONE recipe may be. Don’t get stuck with it ALWAYS just being a loaf of bread! Shape and use it in multiple ways!

Best Blessings!~
Donna Miller

Donna Miller is an author, teacher and entrepreneur. Her favorite roles are that of wife and mother to three home-school graduates. The Millers own and operate Millers Grain House which offers Organic and Chemical-free Whole Grains, Bosch Mixers, the NutriMill, instructional tutorials, recipes and more.